Vending

Hershey lifts Q2 2023 results on price hikes

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July 28, 2023

The Hershey Co. lifted its Q2 2023 sales and earnings, supported by list price increases, according to an earnings report.

Highlights include:

• Consolidated net sales increased 5% from $2.37 billion in Q2 2022 to $2.49 billion in the quarter ending July 2, 2023. Organic, constant currency net sales increased 5%, driven primarily by list price increases. Volumes declined, as expected, due to the lapping of inventory replenishment in the prior year period and the timing of summer promotion shipments occurring more in the first quarter of 2023.
• Net income rose 29.4% from $315.5 million to $406.9 million in the comparative quarters.
• Net income per common share rose from $1.57 to $2.03 on a basic basis and from $1.53 to $1.88 on a diluted basis.
• Adjusted EPS diluted rose 11.7% to $2.01.
• North America confectionery segment net sales rose from $1.9 billion to $1.99 billion in the comparative quarters. Organic, constant currency net sales increased 4.8% as high single digit price realization more than offset expected volume declines related to inventory timing and price elasticity.
• North America salty snacks rose 6.3% from $256.3 million to $272.4 million driven by price realization. Volume declined 30 basis points as shipments lagged consumption due to execution driven inventory level declines and promotional shipment shifts into the third quarter.
• International sales increased 8.5% from $207.2 million to $224.8 million. Organic, constant currency net sales increased 6.2% with gains balanced across price and volume.

Shares traded at $236.46 today against a 52-week range of $211.49 to $276.88.

The $2.49 billion in quarterly earnings missed analyst estimates by $10 million and the non-GAAP EPS of $2.01 beat estimates by 10 cents, according to Seeking Alpha.

The company reiterated its full year sales outlook to an 8% decrease, reduced its reported earnings-per-share outlook from -15% to a range of -13% to -15%, and raised its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook from -11 to a range of 11% to 12%.